Super Bowl 47: Players Who Need to Pick Up Performances in Big Game

Stephen Dunn/Getty ImagesNaVorro Bowman makes one of his few postseason tackles.

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This current postseason has provided us with many great player performances. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has led the way for these performances, with his record-breaking show against the Green Bay Packers a testament to his previously undervalued abilities.

Additionally, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis has been unbelievable in his final postseason run, making nearly twice as many tackles as any other player in the postseason.

However, there have been some players who have underwhelmed thus far and will need to pick it up in the Super Bowl for their teams to win. Here are a few of them.

NaVorro Bowman

First up among the disappointments is San Francisco linebacker NaVorro Bowman. One of the NFL's leading tacklers over the last two seasons, he has underperformed in this postseason. After averaging nearly 10 tackles a game in the regular season, he has totaled exactly that many over the two playoff games.

His performances sometimes get overshadowed by those of teammate Patrick Willis, but his numbers are not up to the standard he has set for himself. He'll need to step up big to control Baltimore running back Ray Rice, the postseason's leading rusher.

Jacoby Jones

While he made a huge contribution to the Ravens' playoff success with his 70-yard touchdown grab against the Denver Broncos, Jacoby Jones has not been hugely successful so far in the postseason.

Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

Jacoby Jones hauls one of his four postseason catches.

Taking that catch out of the equation, Jones has hauled in just three catches on eight other targets for a mere 21 yards. Additionally, he is averaging just over 17 yards per kickoff return after averaging over 30 per return in the regular season. Special teams can often swing a game on its head, and the Super Bowl is no different.

David Akers

Speaking of special teams, San Francisco kicker David Akers has been having a rough go of things lately. The veteran lefty missed 13 of his 42 regular-season attempts, with his 69 percent conversion rate a career worst. This includes just two of six made from 50-plus yards.

Akers has only had two attempts in the postseason, but he's already missed one. His inconsistency saw his team sign Billy Cundiff as a potential replacement, though Akers won out. Still, that's a sign that he needs to step up his game.

As we've seen in years past, these Super Bowls come down to a clutch field goal quite often.